2 hours ago
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On the Notes app on my phone, among the to-do lists and the half-drafted email replies, I have a random list called Things That Are Just Always Chic. Wearing a watch that only tells the time. Having a signature scent. Black Ray-Ban sunglasses. All-white flowers in a vase. Also: wearing jeans with high heels.
Jeans with heels gets me every time. The woman who walks into the room in jeans and heels looks as if she owns the place, in a good way. It is a style language that speaks to everyone, confident and direct, a woman who is on top of her brief but also fun. The impact is stronger than a casual outfit, more compelling than a formal one.
There is sound mathematical logic behind the case for wearing jeans with heels. It works visually, because although the mood music of denim is informal, jeans have as much structure as a tailored suit. The rigidity of denim and the assertive stitching of a five-pocket jean create an architectural shape for the bottom half of your body. A high heel elongates the leg, exaggerating the effect. And by shifting your balance, heels tweak your centre of gravity, giving you no option but to pull your shoulders back and stand up straight, which makes you look taller. Wear jeans and heels together, and they elevate you. Literally.
A pair of jeans is the most ordinary piece of clothing there is. There are designer jeans, of course, but in contrast to the mythology of handbags, shoes or jewellery, denim is a category in which the headline brands are affordable ones. And yet despite how everywhere jeans are, we are captivated by them. The saga of which denim silhouette is most fashionable is a soap opera that everyone follows – a variation of “what shape of jean should I be wearing?” is the fashion question I get asked most often. Perhaps it is because jeans are so democratic, so universal, that they are so powerful. By resisting being slotted into fashion’s hierarchy, they are charged with independent spirit.
The impact of high heels is not just visual (although they have a fairytale-slipper charm that even the most well-constructed loafer cannot compete with), it is audible too. There is something thrilling about announcing your arrival with the crisp staccato drumroll made by heel-tips on a hard floor. This look isn’t loud, but it’s got some good chat.
How to wear jeans with heels? With confidence. Get yourself into character as a hot, sublimely self-possessed French It girl. The golden rule is that the two should be in proportion. If you are in a dainty kick-flared jean, then the precision of a cute kitten heel is on the same scale. If you are wearing wide-leg jeans, consider a chunkier heel: a block-heeled, round-toe boot has the right level of gravity.
A straight-leg jean, being somewhere in the middle in terms of volume, is the easiest to pair with shoes. A pointed or almond-shape is simple and elegant. At this time of year, I am also a big fan of a straight-leg jean worn with strappy sandals over a nice sock. The hot-summer-night energy of a fancy strappy sandal brings a welcome fantasy element to the midwinter doldrums, and a cosy ribbed sock will make the sandals way more comfortable than when worn with bare feet.
Fashion cycles will continue to spin. Jean shapes will wax and wane, heel heights rise and fall. But the combination of jeans with heels transcends the churn because it taps into something deeper than trend: confidence, clarity, a dash of theatre. It has survived every swing of the pendulum because it works mathematically, visually, emotionally.
Which brings us back to that Notes app list. What things that are always chic share is that they are not trends, but shortcuts to a certain feeling. Jeans with heels belongs there because it is not about chasing novelty, or getting dressed up for someone else. It is about knowing how to use clothes to shift the energy of a room in your favour. So make some noise for a style equation solved.
Model: Orla at Milk. Styling assistant: Charlotte Gornall. Hair and makeup: Delilah Blakeney using Celui and Nars. Jacket, £445, Sessùn. Vintage track jacket, £35, by Adidas, from Rokit. Vintage jeans, £70, by Levi’s, from Rokit. Polo shirt, £55, M&S. Court shoes, £188, Reiss. Earrings, £185, Otiumberg
